Analysis
BEIJING – President Xi Jinping has been busy this spring, leading efforts to drive international cooperation, share development opportunities and uphold fairness and justice, thereby injecting much-needed stability and certainty into a volatile world.
ENHANCING COMMUNICATION TO BOOST TIES
Amid a turbulent international landscape, Xi has deepened strategic communication with major countries, demonstrating China’s strong sense of responsibility as a major country.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Russia strategic partnership of coordination and the 25th anniversary of the signing of the China-Russia Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation. China and the United States will host the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting and the G20 Summit, respectively.
On Feb. 4, Xi held a virtual meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and spoke by phone with US President Donald Trump, deepening strategic communication among major powers.
Red carpets were rolled out for visiting dignitaries.
From Jan. 4 to 7, President of the Republic of Korea Lee Jae Myung paid a state visit to China, marking a reciprocal exchange of visits between the two heads of state within just over two months.
From Jan. 4 to 8, Taoiseach of Ireland Micheal Martin paid an official visit to China, the first by an Irish Taoiseach in 14 years.
In a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Feb. 25, Xi noted that Merz’s visit coincided with the period of Spring Festival celebrations. The visit could be likened to an exchange between relatives and friends, reflecting the close and high-level nature of China-Germany relations, according to Xi.
On April 14, in a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who was on his fourth visit to China in four years, Xi said that despite the shifting and turbulent international situation, China-Spain relations have developed steadily all along, injecting stability into China-EU relations.
The next day, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, had a long and in-depth exchange of views on the strategic issues of common concern and overall importance with General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and Vietnamese President To Lam, reaching many new and important common understandings.
Many other foreign leaders, including Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi, and Mozambican President Daniel Chapo, also visited China in this spring.
The steady stream of visits by foreign leaders reflects a shared aspiration for peace and stability, support for win-win cooperation, and growing enthusiasm in engaging in cooperation with China.
SHARING DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
China will open its doors still wider, and inject greater certainty and fresh momentum into the world through its high-quality development, so that countries will realize common development and shared prosperity, Xi said when receiving the credentials of 18 new ambassadors to China on Jan. 16.
Addressing the envoys, Xi encouraged the ambassadors to gain a full and in-depth understanding of the real and multifaceted China, cautioning against viewing the country through a partial lens.
During their visits to China this year, foreign leaders traveled across the country to see firsthand its development and realities today.
Accompanied by about 30 senior executives from leading German companies, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz flew to Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, on Feb. 26. He visited Unitree Technology, where he interacted with humanoid robots.
Taoiseach of Ireland Micheal Martin chose Shanghai as one of his stops during his visit. He was particularly impressed by the expansion of an Irish food trade and R&D company there, which has grown from a small business with just a few employees to a big company employing over 1,400 people, highlighting the strong potential of Ireland-China economic cooperation.
This year marks the beginning of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan period. In his meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Xi said China has firm resolve in advancing Chinese modernization and the broad-mindedness to share development opportunities with the world through high-standard opening up, adding that China will inject confidence and momentum into global economic growth through its own development.
On April 19, in Banyan Village of Huzhu Tu Autonomous County in northwest China’s Qinghai Province – a far-flung place once visited by Xi during an inspection tour – Mozambican President Daniel Chapo saw China’s experience and stunning achievements in poverty reduction.
To partner with China is to embrace stability, certainty and opportunities. In recent months, a series of cooperation documents were signed between China and other countries, including Mozambique, Vietnam and Uruguay.
CHAMPIONING GLOBAL SOLIDARITY
Since late February, the Iran conflict has become one of the most pressing challenges besetting the international community.
On April 14, Xi made four propositions on safeguarding and promoting peace and stability in the Middle East during his meeting with Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, namely staying committed to the principle of peaceful co-existence, the principle of national sovereignty, the principle of international rule of law, and a balanced approach to development and security.
A week later, during talks with Mozambican President Daniel Chapo, Xi noted that as the impact of the Middle East conflict spills over to African countries, China stands ready to work hand in hand with Africa to address these challenges, jointly promote peace and work together to advance development.
As a major country on the global stage, China demonstrates its sense of responsibility in times of challenges.
China has never started a war, and has never taken an inch of foreign land, Xi said to U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, emphasizing that no matter how strong and developed China becomes, it will never be a threat to other countries.
China’s commitment to peaceful development stems from its profound cultural heritage. Just as Xi noted, traditional Chinese culture values peace and pursues harmony without uniformity.
Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi, a former history teacher, reflected on the continuity of Chinese civilization, noting that Uruguay is a partner sharing common values with China, and isolationism and unilateralism offer no solution to global challenges.
Noting that division, confrontation and zero-sum games have no future, and returning the world to the law of the jungle is unpopular, Xi said global solidarity and cooperation represents the only right path forward.
“We need to safeguard the UN-centered international system and the international order underpinned by international law, promote an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, and foster the building of a community with a shared future for humanity,” Xi said during his meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
– Xinhua
